I have two housebound cats. The older is Tippy who is 6 and Brat is about 2. We have taken to putting Brat in a large cage at night with food, water and a litter box. He torments us in the early hours of the morning by knocking things off the nightstands. He seems to feel that we should be awake cause he is. We've tried everything and nothing short of a bullet will stop him.(Horrible little animal!) Anyway...problem solved...he sleeps in the cage. BUT, in the morning, Tippy doesn't seem to recognize Brat as his pal and hisses and growls like crazy. Brat is upset cause his pal is angry and cries. Between the two of them, I'm ready to scream! Tippy has always been rather strange, but this is ridiculous. Any suggestions??

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 06, 2002

Answers

Try boxing both of them for the night?

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), January 06, 2002.

I hate the thought of caging any animal at night that is used to roaming free inside a home. Is there a room you could put them both in with their litter and feed and then shut the door for the night? Then they wouldn't feel as confined as in a cage.

Also, have you had them fixed? Both our tom cats grew much friendlier after they had their surgeries. It helped their all round personalities too. We have a female, Biscuit, who is about four or five years old, and Baxter and CHipper, who are both rescues, who are about a year and a half younger than Biscuit. Getting them all used to each other when each new cat was introduced was a problem at first but now they all co-exist...and Baxter and Chipper are best buddies and lick each other all the time and sleep piled up on top of each other....but they HATED each other at first. best wishes with your cats!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.

Remove the breakables until training is complete; place something that will roll where cat likes to jump up onto, such as round pencils, marbles, anything that will prevent a safe landing on the flat surfaces. Once the cat realizes that there are ambushes waiting for it behaviour should change. The cage is not curing the problem, its just shifting it to something else.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 06, 2002.

Tippy and Brat are both neutered. Brat doesn't roam at night. The little b##t**d sleeps on the computer chair until 4:30AM when he proceeds to the bedroom to bother us. We haven't a room to confine them without them destroyng the carpeting at the door trying to get out. Closing the door to the bedroom makes them scratch and meow at the door thus waking us. Mitch, we've tried everything concerning the nightstands exept the "mousetraps with sheets of paper or foil covering them". The cat jumps on the paper,the traps go off...no pain, just fear. BUT, what can we do to get Tippy to recognize Brat as his buddy? That is my original question.

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 06, 2002.

I'll butt in here tho I have no idea how to cure the problem - our cat hates anything non-human - but you can stop cats tearing up the carpet when you shut the door by putting a blanket down and making sure none of the carpet immediately around the door shows.

If anyone knows how to socialise chickens to cats that would help - i.e. the chickens chase the cat, so he won't use his cat flap which adjoins the chicken pen. Haha!

-- Kath (katherinedakin@aol.com), January 06, 2002.

Ive placed duct tape- sticky side up- on the objects cats are jumping on with some degree of cat-stop-jumping-sucess. You have to do it often at first, then about once a month as a "gentle reminder." Also, I have tried especially slippery objects like glossy paper set on an inclined object (large binder) to get the cat to fall off the table, kitchen counter, etc.

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), January 06, 2002.

Ardie, if the cat is trained to not be on the nightstand waking you up then there would be no need to put it in a cage where they take naps and have to be retrained. Get a large supply squirt gun and chase it from the room the next time it trespasses.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 06, 2002.

Great ideas! I like the duct tape one! Mitch, Brat doesn't go on the nightstand during the day and, at night it's mostly on DH's nightstand, not mine. I caught him on mine one night and spanked him. But, DH sleeps very sound and doesn't wake up fast enough to catch the cat or squirt water at him. We went to the store after church and bought some mouse traps. We don't want to hurt Brat, so we're putting sheets of paper over the set traps. Am hoping the noise trains that cat to stay off. NOW, how about the original question...Tippy is still hissing at Brat and Brat is feeling bad.Any ideas??

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 06, 2002.

Jennifer's answer would work on my cats. Especially if I could crate them side by side. (And open the doors at the exact same time in the morning.) Fussy, very fussy!

-- Nina (ninasinthegarden@aol.com), January 06, 2002.

I HAD this same problem...but I have two kittens and an adult cat. My kittens are the ones that knock everything over and WERE doing it at night, and I am a light sleeper. Anyway's Mokie doesn't get put up, but the two teenage kittens get put in a bedroom downstairs. I sleep now all night, and the two get along, because they are together. They also get along with Mokie. Hope this helps you.

-- Judy (inhishand65@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.

If it were me I'd put both cats outside where they'd be happier and so would I. The problem would be licked and no more cat smell or hair either.

-- Marvelous (schnauzee@mstar2.net), January 07, 2002.